HARTFORD >> If her uncharacteristically quiet offensive performance a few days earlier did not serve as a wake-up call to UConn All-American forward Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, getting to spend the final 7:46 of the first half on the bench and getting an earful from her dissatisfied head coach must have.

Mosqueda-Lewis responded in impressive fashion to lead UConn to an 83-49 win over Memphis before 8,365 at the XL Center on Wednesday night.

Mosqueda-Lewis had 13 of her season-high tying 21 points in the second half and by game’s end her five 3-pointers matched her total from the previous four games combined.

“If you are a competitor, you want to be out there,” Mosqueda-Lewis said.

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So how did she work her way through her recent offensive struggles since she had 21 points and five 3-pointers against this same Memphis team on Jan. 4?

“Just go out every day, and practice really hard,” she said.

Mosqueda-Lewis scored all eight of her first-half points in a span of 80 seconds and UConn coach Geno Auriemma made it pretty clear that wasn’t going to get it done.

“I thought in the second half she was more like what we have come to expect from her,” Auriemma said. “I think you could tell a lot by the way she got involved rebounding and ball and involved in the game. When you get involved in the game your shots have a chance to go in too. She is not there but with that second 20 minutes, she is getting close.”

Mosqueda-Lewis had plenty of help as UConn improved to 20-0 for the eighth time in program history. UConn also won its first 20 games during the 1994-95, 1996-97, 2001-02, 2002-03, 2007-08, 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons. The Huskies went onto win the national title five of the seven times they opened a season with a 20-0 record.

Bria Hartley had 20 points and five assists as she posted back to back 20-point games for the first time in her collegiate career. Breanna Stewart had 16 points, nine rebounds, three blocks and three steals and Stefanie Dolson added 12 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and five steals.

The fifth starter, Moriah Jefferson, finished with nine steals which is one off program record set by Cathy Bochain against Vermont on Feb. 24, 1980 and matched by Jen Rizzotti against Providence on Jan. 12, 1996.

Breigha Wilder-Cochran had 12 points and 10 rebounds to lead Memphis (10-9, 3-4 in the American Athletic Conference).

Junior guard Brianna Banks played just three minutes due to an ankle injury reaggravated in Tuesday’s practice. More of a concern is the condition of sophomore forward Morgan Tuck, who missed her fourth straight game due to a bone bruise in her right knee. Following the game Hartley suggested that Tuck would be best served by sitting out the season, undergoing another surgery on her right knee and recapturing the season of eligibility with a redshirt season.

Auriemma was uncertain whether Tuck would be eligible to receive the additional season of eligibility since she played in the Houston game which is past the midway point of the regular season,

“At this point in time, it hasn’t been thrown around because she wants to play and I think there does come a point in time you have to figure out what is best for this kid and what are we going to do,” Auriemma said. “At some point her, her mom, dad and everybody, we are going to figure out what we are going to do. I know she doesn’t want to be in a situation where it is two weeks in, two weeks out, that kind of (stinks).”

NOTES: UConn signee Gabby Williams had a scare when she left Reed High of Sparks, Nevada’s win over Spanish Springs on Tuesday night after landing awkwardly on her surgically-repaired right knee. The early indications is that it was not a serious injury and was not another torn ACL but the extent of the injury won’t be known until the results of an MRI are in.